Why is Helium Critical for Australia?

Helium is no longer just child's play to create that squeaky voice by inhaling it from balloons. (and if you are interested, this happens because sound travels faster through a lighter gas than a heavier one. The speed of sound in helium is almost three times faster than in air and this changes the resonant frequency of your throat so that high frequencies sound louder than low ones).

Today, in the context of helium supply disruption due to recent attacks on Qatar's gas complex, helium has taken on a paramount role to ensure global chip supply.

Role of Helium in semiconductor industry

The semiconductor sector takes around 15 percent of the world’s helium supply. This is because the extreme ultraviolet lithography systems that pattern every leading-edge chip can’t operate without helium. Only helium has the right physical properties to keep the optical path contamination-free at the wavelengths involved.

Beyond that, the healthcare and aerospace sectors also need helium. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines won’t function without helium, which cools their superconducting magnets. Likewise, aerospace needs helium for leak detection and precision welding.

Role of Australia in global helium output

Australia, with one of the world’s largest helium endowments, is one of the few countries that can offer a more reliable supply of the gas.

Only a handful of countries produce helium. The United States and Qatar together supply nearly 90 percent. Qatar's production is severely affected and nearly a third of the world’s helium resources from Qatar are stuck in the Middle East because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US needs what it produces. Sales to Western countries by Russia, the third-largest producer, have been curtailed by sanctions. Other counries such as Ageria and Canada produce only a fraction of Qatar’s output. Hence, global chip supply is at risk and it presents an opportunity for Australia to gain leverage it has never had in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Is Helium a critical mineral?

The irony is that Australia removed helium from its Critical Minerals List in 2023. In the same year, its only helium production facility at a Darwin LNG plant was shut down. The removal was based on assessments that supply chains were stable at that time, which is no longer the case today. Should Australia thus restore helium to the Critical Minerals List, which will unlock resources catered for critical minerals development?

This call is not just unique to Australia. There are also calls from industry stakeholders for countries such as United States to add helium to its Critical Minerals List amid the Gulf Crisis.

Regardless of how the Gulf Crisis evolves in the coming weeks, the spotlight has deifnitely been cast on the importance of helium for the stability of the global semiconductor industry. And it presents an opportunity for Australia to strengthen its position in the global semiconductor supply chain.

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